After a wild few weeks, Marquette turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament

Marquette forward Theo John is escorted from the court after being ejected, just one part of the craziness Friday night during the Golden Eagles' loss to Seton Hall.(Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

NEW YORK – The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for the Marquette men's basketball team.

The Golden Eagles closed the regular season on a four-game losing streak, blowing a chance at the Big East title.

Then MU came out energized for the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden and completely dismantled St. John's, 86-54, in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski called it "one of the more complete performances of the year."

But any momentum MU gained with that blowout victory came to a grinding halt in the semifinals with an 81-79 loss to Seton Hall in a game that was marred by skirmishes, fouls and confusion.

The season is not over for the Golden Eagles. They will find out their NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday. Most bracket predictions have MU earning a No. 5 seeding.

"We got more basketball to play," Wojciechowski said after the loss to the Pirates. "We're going to the NCAA Tournament. We got a chance to do some things.

"Hey, the game of basketball can be extraordinarily crazy. We all were in the gym (against Seton Hall) for an extraordinarily crazy game."

One worry for MU is the health of junior guard Markus Howard. The Big East player of the year, who averages 25 points per game, has been playing with his left wrist taped after getting hurt against Villanova on Feb. 27.

Howard banged his wrist late in the first half against Seton Hall and immediately left the game. He went back to MU's locker room for the final 2 minutes 24 seconds of the first half.

Markus Howard grabs at his wrist during the first half Friday night. He came out of the game but will "be just fine," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said.(Photo: Associated Press)

But Howard returned and played the entire second half.

"He's going to be fine," Wojciechowski said. "Markus is a (heck) of a player. He's bumped and bruised. He's been bumped and bruised all year.

"He'll just be fine. We got to regroup and get better."

The 5-foot-11 Howard is the focus of opposing defenses, and many teams try to slow him with physicality.

"He takes a lot of punishment," Wojciechowski said. "But we're going to have to just gut him through with all the bumps and bruised that he's endured, especially over the last few weeks."

Howard finished with 21 points against Seton Hall, but shot just 1 for 15. He was 18 for 24 on free throws.

"Usually in the NCAAs, they get back to the initial points of emphasis," Wojciechowski said. "So I think that will help Markus, too."

The MU coach was making a not-so-subtle dig at the officiating in his team's loss to the Pirates.

The Golden Eagles had two players ejected after a fracas in the second half: junior guard Sacar Anim for a second technical foul and sophomore center Theo John for a "flagrant 2" foul.

"Those two guys are all-defensive (team) level players," Wojciechowski said. "It was hard for us, but I thought the other guys stepped up and we put ourselves in position to win.

"We didn't make some plays that we're capable of making. So, down two guys and our two best defenders, our guys showed a lot of grit. So that was good."

MU shot 29 for 41 on free throws. Seton Hall also had seven offensive rebounds in the final seven minutes.

The Golden Eagles have to find their focus after a wild stretch.

"We're going to the NCAA Tournament and we're going to attack that," Wojciechowski said. "We're looking forward to having a breath of fresh air because we need it."